QB Baker Mayfield Wins Heisman Trophy
QB Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma completed an incredible road to the Heisman Trophy award Saturday night when he earned 732 first-place votes and the most prestigious award in sports. Mayfield’s journey included walking on at Oklahoma after spending a year as a walk-on at Texas Tech. His outstanding senior season won the 83rd Heisman trophy this year in a wide margin after being a 2016 finalist.
Photo – QB Baker Mayfield – Oklahoma
Mayfield collected 732 first-place votes and 2,398 points in the voting totals. He finished ahead of Stanford running back Bryce Love (1,300 total points) and 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville (793).
The Sooners QB had the 3rd-highest % of total points in a Heisman-winning vote since 1950. His 86 percent trailed only Marcus Mariota’s 90.9 percent (Oregon, 2014) and Troy Smith’s 91.6 percent (Ohio State, 2006).
Mayfield became the first senior to win the Heisman since Smith in 2006. On Thursday night, he won the Davey O’Brien (best QB) and Maxwell (player of the year) awards. The Associated Press and Walter Camp awards also named him their player of the year.
Mayfield led #2 Oklahoma to a 12-1 record and a Big 12 championship this season. On Jan. 1, the Sooners will take on Georgia in the Rose Bowl Game in the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff.
The NCAA began allowing athletic scholarships in 1950 and yet no player ever won the Heisman Trophy who started his career as a walk-on. Mayfield, the Oklahoma quarterback whose storybook saga began with him walking on at Texas Tech, captured the 83rd Heisman in a landslide victory.
Baker Mayfield became a star quarterback at Oklahoma and led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff 2017. “It’s a dream right now,” he said.
“This is unbelievable for me, being up here among these greats,” Mayfield said upon receiving the award with past Heisman winners standing behind him. “It’s something that words can’t even describe. God has put me in this position that I’m so blessed, and a lot of times I wonder why. But it’s such an honor to be up here. It’s unbelievable.”
Go to http://www.heisman.com for extensive history and information on the Heisman Trophy
Mayfield has put together one of the most impressive individual offensive seasons in the college football history. The Sooners will open the playoff against Georgia in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Mayfield completed 71% of his passes and thrown for 4,340 yards and 41 TDs with only five interceptions. He is averaging 11.8 yards per passing attempt, which would shatter the FBS record that he set last season.
His NFL Draft 2018 journey will begin after the College playoffs where his height will become an issues. He will create a wide range of options and will be a ‘Wild card’ prospect in one of the best QB classes over the past few decades.
Frank Coyle is a long-time scout with nationwide ties with coaches, scouts and player agents. He is a long-time member of the FWAA and voter in College player awards – Heisman, Outland, Nagurski, Lombardi, Thorpe, Biletnikoff etc for the past 20 years. He writes College Football Mondays weekly during the season. He is a longtime scouting consultant for the Senior Bowl, the nation’s premier postseason All-star game. He does sports radio shows for ESPN, Fox Sports and Sporting News on a year-round basis related to College Football especially during the postseason team and All-star Bowl time. He has worked for CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Yahoo and Rivals sports publications and web sites